Then and now: How things have changed since Shaun White's Olympic debut in 2006

If your first thought upon seeing Shaun White tearing down the halfpipe in PyeongChang was one of shock that he's still competing, you were probably not alone.

While 31 is certainly not an advanced age in most professions, it's considered ancient in the world of snowboarding. That especially rings true when you consider that the gold medalist in the slopestyle event in PyeongChang was 17-year-old Red Gerard.

While father time may be undefeated, White showed he's more than capable of putting up a helluva fight, taking home his third gold medal in the halfpipe with an astonishing performance in South Korea.

It was 12 years ago that a 19-year-old kid with shaggy red hair first burst onto the Olympic scene with a high-flying act unfamiliar to most of the world. He would claim gold in his debut, and again four years later in Vancouver. He may have finished off the podium at Sochi 2014, but Wednesday's performance left no doubt about who can hold the claim of best male snowboarder of all time.

Here's how the world looked each of the three times White climbed to the top of the podium at the Olympic Games:

2006

Location: Turin, Italy
Age: 19
Score: 46.8 (out of 50)
Best trick: Back-to-back 1080
U.S. President: George W. Bush
Oscarbest picture: "Crash"
Grammy best record: "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" - Green Day
Worldwide Facebook users: 12 million
Red Gerard's age: 5


White was already a household name in snowboarding circles when he made his Olympics debut at Torino 2006, having dominated the Winter X Games for a number of years. It was the Italian backdrop where he truly became an international sensation however, topping teammate Danny Kass with a score of 46.8 out of 50 to take home the gold. His best trick during his routine was a back-to-back 1080.

2010

Location: Vancouver, Canada
Age: 23
Score: 48.4 (out of 50)
Best trick: Double McTwist 1260
U.S. President: Barack Obama
Oscar best picture: "The Hurt Locker"
Grammy best record: "Fearless" - Taylor Swift
Worldwide Facebook users: 400 million
Red Gerard's age: 9

White entered Vancouver 2010 as the heavy favorite to win the halfpipe competition and the American didn't disappoint in his performance. White made history by landing the first-ever Double McTwist 1260 during the final, finishing more than three points ahead of the silver medalist, Peetu Piiroinen of Finland.

2018

Location: PyeongChang, South Korea
Age: 31
Score: 97.75 (out of 100)
Best trick: Back-to-back 1440s
U.S. President: Donald Trump
Oscar best picture: "Moonlight"
Grammy best record: "24K Magic" - Bruno Mars
Worldwide Facebook users: 1.34 billion
Red Gerard's age: 17

He may not be the force on the world circuit that he once was, but White announced his intentions to the rest of the competition with an insane score of 98.50 to finish as the top qualifier in PyeongChang. He took that momentum to the final, setting the bar early with a 94.25 score in the opening run. After being passed in the second run, White needed to top the 95.25 score laid down by Ayumu Hirano. He responded in emphatic fashion, hammering out a final run of 97.75 to top the podium yet again.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)